Friday, February 13, 2009

Who needs Bob, when you've got Pipsywoo

Two reasons that I'm excited about cinema going in 2009!

Star Trek - The Movie Trailer



OK, I'll admit it. I'm a bit of a geek. I like to know how things work. I love CGI. I love hearing about new software and hardware. I love gadgets (more than I can express but only useful ones) and I love HTML coding. But I think there is nothing more satisfying than taking something broken and fixing it. Whether that be a broken figurine, electoral equipment, etc.
Recently I was printing out some photos for our Hall of Fame (an artistic feature at my house aka total humiliation of myself and housemates) and my photo printer broke and wouldn't reset. There is also no over ride button, which is annoying. It was buggered!

So what does a normal human being do? They'd probably either send it off to the manufactors, take it back to the shop (although mine is about 4-5 years old now), but I don't think they'd take it apart. Alas, I did. I've done it before, when the cartridge jammed, so why not now.
Jewellery screw drivers out -
5 minutes in: I was in to the main motor and mother board.
10 minutes: I'd located the cartridge cogs.
15 minutes: I'd manually reset the cartridge drive.
25 minutes: Printer fixed and back together with no bits left over. Not even a random washer (where do they come from?).
27 minutes: Have I really fixed it?
29 minutes: Yes, yes I have! Job done!
If I'd sent it off, it would have been a 3-4 week, £100+ job!

I get this obsession with taking things apart and fixing them, from my dad. As I kid, I was always called to assist my dad in his projects. Mainly because I had a steady hand and small wrists, I won't go in to how many times I tighten screws or bolts up in car engines. My dad was a handyman in his own right, I don't ever remember seeing a plumber, electrician or builder at our house as a kid (if things needed doing, he did it. No matter what it was). Nowadays you have to get someone in, due to regulations but back when lead paint was the norm, hell no!

But there is a major satisfaction in seeing something back to it's former glory from deaths door. The kind of satisfaction you can't get from anything else. I think that if I knew all of the terminology and names of everything, I'd be discovered as a geek but not knowing it all, means I can hide it behind make up and high heels.

And yes I am a little OCD about things too but that's for another time.

3 comments:

Mr Axl said...

I just can't get excited about the new Star Trek film. Transformers 2 looks like it'll be worth checking out tho.

Ever been on /film? It's a really good film blog. They get lots of good info on upcoming stuff, good & bad. Great for geeks like us. They've had a fair bit about Transformers 2, and also you can read about the forthcoming Stretch Armstrong film (Jeez, I thought the Monopoly film was a bad idea...).

http://www.slashfilm.com/

Go there. It's good.

Pipsywoo said...

Are you having a laugh? Stretch Armstrong.

Oh dear god. Hollywood really has run out of idea.

I don't think even God could help us? Maybe I should call Batwomen? As she's the next big thing, apparently?

Pipsywoo said...

Oh and I can't help be excited about Star Trek.
a) was raised a mild trekky by my parents and an ex.
b) it's got some good actors in it.

Downside, it might make Star Trek seem cool in the more general sense of the word - this is a bad thing!